Sunday Sewing Space - Diary of a Flutter. Kat

Have you all come across Kat before? Im sure you have, she creates such beautiful things, some of which she also sells in her online shop (and can I say they are super good prices!) she has recently ventured into childrens' clothes and they are really lovely.
Kat has also recently hosted Good Etiquette for the Modern Blogger (Revisited) and lined up some great bloggers that we know and love to give their opinion on all things social media related, definitely one to check out.

Hello to anyone that has come over from Kats' blog, its lovely to have you, feel free to take a nose at some of the other Sunday Sewing Spaces that I have hosted (im planning on stealing lots of ideas when I finally set up my own space when we move!)

Finally dont forget that this week is my 1 year bloggiversary and after all of your wonderful commebts then I have decided to have a few giveaways so there will be fabric and handmade goodness for you to choose from. The giveaways will be coming up throughout the month of May (to give me time to make some stuff!!!) so make sure you check back often or follow to hear more details.

Ok so over to Kat, thank you for showing us around your space today, its lovely and so well organised, I can only dream of being as organised as you are!

Where is your Sewing Space?

I am extremely lucky enough to be able to use our third bedroom as my creative office/studio space. Our house is not huge, but one of its assets is that the bedrooms are pretty generous in size meaning our two girls comfortably share a room. That leaves us a room to use as the studio. 

We all win by the arrangement because my daughters spend just about as much time in there creating as I do. Of course that means it's not always as blemish free from pen on the desks etc. as I'd like. That can be frustrating since I sew for business and also teach small classes in there, but never the less it works ok and it's so good for them to have space in their too.... 

What 3 words do you feel best describes it?

Satisfying. Loved. Functional.

What are your most important things in there?

My three most important things in there are my main sewing machine, my overlocker & my stash. I couldn't do without those that's for sure!! The rest is just a bonus.

I suppose the other most important thing is all my storage space. It's nothing flash - in fact it's really the cheapest stuff that money can buy from Ikea and a bunch of $20 shelf units purchased from "the reject shop". But by putting those shelf units on top of each other on top of a table (also cheap as chips from ikea), it's functional and boy it helps me stay organised.

How is the room laid out ie. Sewing machine, ironing board, cutting table etc?

One of the things I have worked hard to get is lots of desk space and storage. So I now have 3 different stations and tend to try and have my main work spaces set out in a triangle for ease of use.

What sort of sewing machine do you have and how do you feel about it?

I have a Brother Innovis 1200 sewing and embroidery machine. I can just about count on one hand how many times I've used the embroidery function, but that being said I LOVE it to bits and I certainly work it hard. It sews like a workhorse hardly ever giving me trouble, which is exactly what I need. It also has a lot of features that help me sew more efficiently e.g. thread cutter, needle threader, auto tension etc... 

I was lucky enough to pick it up at a clearance price and would never have been able to afford it at full price. So I am forever thankful that I happened to be in the right place at the right time to find it at such a discount!!


My second machine is a good quality second hand (20 year old) Pfaff which I purchased last year as a spare for teaching or in case my main machine breaks down. That is also a great machine and often I use them both at the same time - e.g. one for shirring & one of top stitching etc...

Do you have anything in the room for inspiration?

I have many things in the room that inspire me. Highest up on my list are the things I've received in swaps. This mini quilts adorn the wall in from of my sewing machines...

(usually I have another from my Denyse Schmidt dolls quilt swap too but it fell down and I have to get a new sticky hook...)

I have swap mugrugs right next to were I sew and lots of "pretty little" purses from the pretty {little} purse swaps I've been in dotted around the room holding sewing notions...

I also have a bag hanging on my pinboard that has the handprint of someone freed from sexual slavery on it. It reminds me to think outside my four walls and remember how lucky I am to live the life that I do.

Where do you keep your fabric stash and how do you organise it?

I keep my fabric stash on shelves. 
It probably gives many people kittens at the fact I have so much fabric exposed to the open light like that but there is a very good reason that I can get away with it like that...
Where I live in Perth it is extremely hot and sunny for much of the year. So from about September through til April we have shutters down on our bedrooms to block out the sun and heat. That unfortunately limits the natural light in my sewing room, but at the same time it means that I don't have to worry as much as I would normally about my fabric fading.

However, just this week we have lifted our shutters for the winter season which means I now have to cover all my fabric up. You can see above that I have one curtain already, but unfortunately (or fortunately?) my stash has grown so much since last year (I started making children's clothes for business) and it no longer fits under the curtain. I'm going to have to make some more curtains to cover my stash quick smart, but until then I try and keep the curtains shut while I'm not in there.

I organise my stash into sections. I have my quilting stash - that is mostly all from half a yard down. I rarely buy bigger cuts than that unless I can see myself using it as a backing.

Then I have my dress making fabrics. The majority of those are for the little girls dresses/outfits that I make for my business.

Thirdly I have my solids & tutu fabrics.

In the drawers I keep my scraps. All small and odd sized scraps go into one huge drawer. I used to organise them by colour but I just generate them too quickly to be bothered and for what I tend to use them for it doesn't really matter if all the odd shaped scraps are all mixed in together..

In another drawer I keep all my very very precious fabrics & scraps. And in another I keep all my strips & squares, sorted by size.

Do you have any top tips to do with work spaces?

Hmmm.... My main tip would probably be staying organised. There's nothing worse than spending valuable sewing time trying to find something. The other thing I suppose that I've learned is to really utilise your vertical space. A lot of people neglect the vertical space when designing their workspace but you can fit so much more in a small space by making the most of the vertical area.

What would your ideal workspace look like/be.
To be honest I can't think of much that I'd like to change for now. I've worked hard to get my space to this point and I'm very happy with it.
There will obviously always be dream scenarios like huge custom built spaces etc. etc. but for now I'm happy with my reality :)

Thanks for having me Charlotte!